The Roads Not Taken
by teamtwihard
Summary: "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." ― Oscar Wilde
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own BBC's Robin Hood, no matter how hard I wish. **

**This idea came to me very randomly at work when a song from 'Mulan' came on (I work with children) suddenly I just noticed similarities between Djaq's story and that of Mulan's. Both went to war to honour their family names. Djaq's story never made in into any episodes apart from short mentions and whilst there are a couple of fanfics that have attempted this, there just isn't enough for me. If I get any positive reviews for this I aim to continue, but please no flaming, as this is my first Robin Hood fanfic. **

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Time past slowly for Ishak as he bent, once again, in prayer. He tried to block out Aisha's screams of pain and the footsteps of the woman helping her. He prayed for her health and of that of their child. He turned as he heard footsteps behind him. The woman bowed before speaking

""As-salamu `alaykum. It is over" Ishak got to his feet and hurried along the corridor. He stopped as he got to the opening of the room and watched as Aisha turned her head towards him and smiled. Ishak held back tears as he crossed the room and smoothed back the hair from her face. Another woman leaned down next to him and asked

"Would you like to see them?" Ishak looked at her and asked

"Twins?" The woman smiled and gestured towards the room opposite. He left his wife and crossed over towards the sound of a child crying. He looked down upon them, instinctively picking up the crying child and trying to soothe him.

"A boy and a girl" He turned slightly at the sound of her voice and smiled down at her.

"You should be resting" She reached out and began to stroke the child's forehead.

"I will after we have named them. What should his name be?" Ishak looked down at the boy in his hands and replied

"Djaq, after my Father" She smiled up at him and picked up the girl, who through all of this, had just watched calmly. Aisha smiled at her and watched as the child wrapped her hands around her finger.

"What about her?" Ishak looked over at the child, taking in her deep brown eyes and replied

"Her name is Saffiya"

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**Short, but this is only a prologue. So should I continue? **


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own BBC's Robin Hood, no matter how hard I wish. **

**Back with another update, thanks to bookworm 41 for the review and to everyone else who read this. **

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_Aged seven_

"Djaq, wait up" Saffiya chased her brother through the grounds, stopping only to remove her hijab from her head, leaving her hair flowing behind her as she chased Djaq. She turned the corner and nearly walked into him.

"What are you doing Saffiya? You can't come with me, girls can't play with boys" Saffiya turned her head to the floor and muttered

"But I just want to play" Djaq turned to the gates where his friends were waiting before replying

"Later Saffiya" He ran to join them and Saffiya watched them as they ran through the market until they were out of sight. She pushed back tears as she walked slowly back into her house.

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Saffiya watched her mother as she walked around the room, helping servants remove clean the room. Aisha started as she turned and caught silent at her silent daughter watching her from the corner of the room. She tutted at Saffiya appearance before moving to stand in front of her and rearranged the hijab on her head.

"You shouldn't remove this" Aisha turned to walk away until she heard a small voice

"But why?" Aisha looked at her daughter determined face, sighing inwardly as she replied

"It is not fitting for a man to see your hair unless he is to be your husband" Saffiya opened her mouth but her mother held her hand and said

"Enough questions, go and play Saffiya" Saffiya slowly left the room, looking back to see her mother, who had turned her back and was singing softly under her breath.

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Saffiya walked slowly through the corridors and sighed to herself. She hadn't made friends as easily as her brother and often spent her days roaming through the house or its grounds. She was unable to visit the market without an escort or her father and she felt lonely when devoid of the freedom her brother had. She stopped at a door and looked into her father's private room. It was a simple room, with a desk in the middle and several ledgers balanced on top. Saffiya looked down the corridors before slipping into the room. She picked up the largest ledger and sat on the floor with it. She bit her lip as she opened the ledger and looked at the diagrams. Though she couldn't understand the words, the pictures fascinated her and it wasn't long until she was absorbed completely.

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"What are you doing in here?" Saffiya jumped at the sound of her father's voice and looked down in shame. Ishak chuckled at his daughter face before saying softly

"Do not worry little one. What have you been looking at?" Saffiya offered him the ledger and Ishak looked down at the page.

"Ah, how to stop bleeding, Why are you looking at this?" Saffiya looked down again and replied

"It looked interesting. Can you do that father?" He nodded and watched as his daughter's eyes widened in shock. He chuckled once more before stroking a loose hair back under her hijab and bending down to look at her.

"One day, my little bird, I will teach you too"

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**Another short chapter, but I like it. So what did you guys think?**


	3. Chapter 2

**Oh my goodness, apologies for how long it took to write this chapter. There's no excuse really apart from real life getting in the way and lack of inspiration. With that being said my muse is now back and I give you this, I hope you all enjoy it. **

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Aged Ten

"Now place your hand above the wound and press" Saffiya did as her father instructed and watched as he finished tending to his patient. He smiled across the table at her before saying

"Let go" Saffiya raised her hand and her father smiled warmly at the man.

There, it should heal soon. If not, come and find me" The man bowed and left. Ishak began to place his instruments back into his bag, Saffiya watching silently, waiting for any further instructions. Her father looked up to her and chuckled.

"Calm yourself, you did well, my little bird" Saffiya smiled and bowed her head

"Thank you father" The room was silent before a shout was heard across the house

"Saffiya" Ishak turned to the sound of the voice before looking back at his daughter. He gestured with his head and said quietly

"Go to your mother. Before I'm in trouble for teaching you this" Saffiya adjusted her hijab before walking swiftly out of the room. She met her mother halfway and watched as her mother tutted and readjusted her hijab.

"You need to remember to present yourself properly, Saffiya. Men will not buy your hand if you do not present yourself well" Saffiya bowed her head and kept her eyes on the floor. It was not the first time that she had heard this and wouldn't be the last. Aisha watched her daughter for a second before sighing softly.

"Go and play. Find Djaq and keep him company"

"Yes mother" Saffiya slowly walked past Aisha, she turned a corner and watched as her mother took her fathers' arm and talked quietly with him.

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Saffiya turned a corner in the grounds and stopped as she turned the corner and saw her brother, brandishing a sword in his hand.

"That's father's sword. Where did you get it?" Djaq dropped the sword at her voice before scooping it back up and pushing her away slightly.

"Not now Saffiya. Go somewhere else" He turned his back to her before he heard

"I can tell father that you have his sword" He turned back to see her smirking slightly at him, hands on her hips.

"Fine, Stay but be quiet" Saffiya sat down and watched for a while whilst Djaq waved around the sword, attacking a tree repeatedly before she spoke again.

"Why did you take father's sword?" Djaq looked over at Saffiya before replying

"I need to practice"

"But what for?" He sat down next to her, placing the sword in front of them.

"The men at the market say that a war is coming. That a king from a faraway place is coming to take over and kill our king" Saffiya was silent for a second before asking

"Can I join?" Djaq laughed and replied

"No, you have to stay here. Mother told you what you have to do" Saffiya stood up, placing her hands on her hips and said stubbornly

"I don't want to get married and have children. I want to help father fix people and I want to help you fight" Djaq shook his head, stood up and picked up the sword.

"You can't. Come on, I'm hungry. Let's take something from the kitchen" Saffiya smiled back before following her brother.


	4. Chapter 3

**Another chapter, yay! On a slight roll. I've been rewatching all the Robin Hood episodes (apart from season three because it my head it never happened) and I noticed that Djaq/Saffiya never talks about her mother, only her father and brother. Very random, I know but gives me creative liberties whilst I wrote this chapter. So I hope you all enjoy it **

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Aged 15

"Saffiya! Where are you?" Saffiya started at the sound of her mother's voice, her grip of her sword slacking slightly and nearly dropping it. She ran to the edge of the estate and placed the sword gently within the stone wall.

"Saffiya! Come here at once" She ran towards the sound of her mother's voice and nearly ran into her. Her mother tutted at the state of her and began to straighten her clothes.

"Where have you been Saffiya? Your father and I have something we wish to discuss with you" Saffiya lowered her head and followed her mother into her father's private rooms. She noticed that the books had been removed and it seemed colder without them in there. Her father was sat with his head in his hands. He looked up and Saffiya saw a flash of sadness in his eyes before it was masked with indifference.

"It is time, Saffiya that we begin to look for suitors. You are nearly at age and we have already been given offers" Saffiya looked from her mother to her father before saying

"No" Aisha took a breath and looked towards Ishak.

"It is time for you to carry out the duties for this family, to bring honour" Saffiya took a step to her mother and said

"I still say no. There are other ways for me to bring honour, not just to be sold off" Aisha raised a hand and before Ishak could stop her, struck Saffiya's cheek. Saffiya touched her cheek before fleeing from the room. Ishak stood next to his wife and took her hand.

"There are other ways to make her listen" Aisha looked up at Ishak before saying

"She is running out of time. This is the path that she must follow"

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Saffiya had fled to Bassam's house and was sat beside the pigeons. She was absently stroking a pigeon when her uncle came from behind her.

"What is wrong little bird?" Saffiya scoffed at the name before saying bitterly

"I'm not a little bird. I am tied so tightly to the role I must take that I am bound to this earth" Bassam laughed softly before leaning down and whispering

"You may not be a bird but you can still take flight. You are not bound to the fates, you may your own journey" Saffiya looked back at her uncle, who smiled softly at her.

"Go back to your father" Saffiya smiled and bowed her head before leaving.


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey I know I haven't updated this story in a while. If you read my blog, you will see why for last month and the month before that I was extremely ill in hospital. Thankfully I'm all better now and updating this. So enjoy. **

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Aged 15

"Sit up straighter, Saffiya" Saffiya bit back a remark whist arching her back and watching her mother circle her. Aisha tucked a stray piece of hair under her headwear and stood back to observe her daughter.

"This meeting is important. Falah comes from a successful family. This will be a good match" Saffiya sighed before replying

"Yes mother" Aisha looked down at her daughter before walking out of the door and fetching Falah. Saffiya slumped slightly, sighing as she thought back over the last couple of days. Her Mother was in her element, planning the arrangements of Saffiya's marriage. Her Father had stopped giving her medical lessons, under her Mother's instruction, in Aisha's opinion; a learnt woman would not get a good match. Djaq, however, had stood by her, sneaking her medical ledgers and sparring with her.

A young man entered the room and stood in front of her. Saffiya slowly raised her eyes from the ground and found herself staring into dark brown eyes. The man smiled before saying

"MY lady Saffiya, my name is Falah" Saffiya bowed her head in acknowledgement and gestured for him to sit with her.

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Falah took his leave and Aisha sat next to her daughter. Smiling, she held Saffiya's hand.

"I'm proud of you. Falah will be a good husband and you must be a good wife and treat him well" Aisha stood and walked away. Saffiya took off the hijab and walked towards the window.

"How did it go, Saffiya?" She turned to see her father in the doorway. She took a breath before replying

"He is a kind man, we are well suited" Ishak smirked at his daughter before saying

"Now that is not my little bird talking. Say what you really think?" Saffiya looked away and smiled slightly before replying

"He is kind, but when he speaks there is no emotion. He bores me" Ishak chuckled and pulled Saffiya in for a hug.

"Your Mother means well. If he will have you, you will be well supported for life" He looked down, laughing at the sour expression on her face

"Enough talk of marriage then, I have a new ledger, if you would like to look over it with me. It will stop Djaq from stealing it from me" Saffiya looked at him puzzled before saying

"But mother…." Ishak held up his hand, silencing her

"What your mother does not know will not hurt her"


End file.
